The present invention relates generally to improved methods and apparatus for quality focussed management. More specifically, the present invention relates to advantageous methods and apparatus for providing tools for quality control of multiple processes, such as a process control management system and a quality navigator which are highly intuitive to use, which hierarchically link levels of data and which allow a user to display charts in a web based format and to readily travel from level to level and across a level in a rapid and meaningful fashion.
With the increasing focus in business on quality control, vast amounts of raw quality control data are being collected in the effort to work toward defect-free process execution and total quality management. Quality management is seen as a strategy for bringing significant improvements in quality of product and customer relationship, market share, profit margins, cost reductions, supplier performance, employee satisfaction and the like. Within this system, the amount of raw data may be overwhelming. In other words, one may not see the forest for the trees. Worse yet, as data is disseminated more and more widely and readily as a result of improvements in computing, communications and the like, that data is subject to being misunderstood or misused by an ever widening group of people within a typical company. Whereas data might previously be collected, evaluated and fed to the top of an organization, now that same data may be nearly simultaneously available to all employees at all levels of a company.
Consequently, the present invention recognizes that it would be highly advantageous to provide tools to appropriately link the raw data as it is relevant to the objectives of the company collecting the data, and to prioritize the data in hierarchical levels so that all employees with access will be focussed upon the items identified as most critical to success. It has further been recognized by the present invention that maintaining links to the underlying data and providing effective mechanisms for displaying that data provide an important crosscheck to the underlying assumptions as to which data is in fact most relevant.
The present invention advantageously provides methods and apparatus for providing such advantageous features, as well as others. According to one aspect of the present invention, data which formerly may have been redundantly stored at multiple locations now has a central repository and is available on a web site. The system automatically links top level indicators to core and sublevel processes each with quality outcome and process indicators, and automatically generates run and control charts for monitoring the processes on a real time basis. The stored chart definitions result in uniform charts throughout the business. Further, whereas previously charts might be taped up on a large wall in an office or conference room and statically displayed, charts are now dynamically generated to suit the users"" needs while maintaining data linkages which have been identified. The system-facilitates multiple users in multiple locations discussing and viewing the data charts during a telephone or videoconference.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a quality navigation system is provided. In one embodiment, this system includes both a process control management system (PCMS) and a quality navigator (QN) which together cooperate to provide an intranet based, web page based linkage of quality data that allows management to view quality control charts for each business process or top level indicator (TLI) and thereby efficiently and effectively evaluate the quality of the output of the process. As a further aspect of the invention, advantageous navigation tools are provided. Other aspects may include the display of indicator linkages by any of various stratifications, such as TLIs, core, process/subprocess, compliance and the like as discussed further below. Further, email, page alerts, or other notifications may be automatically generated to substantially immediately alert a process owner or one responsible for a process of an out of control process or indicator. Finally, the presently preferred system focusses everyone on the customer by providing tools to initiate the analysis-of the root causes of problems and to ensure that once those problems are corrected that they stay fixed.